Before humans arrived in Europe, the continent was covered in forest. The largest remaining part of that original woodland is Bialowieza Forest, which spans the borders of Poland and Belarus. At least it does now. The history of the forest includes hundreds of years of rule under various kings, some who exploited the forest and some who cared for it. The last hundred years saw the forest kicked back and forth between warring nations. Along the way, the native wisent, or Eurasian bison, was wiped out. The story of how the wisent was restored to Bialowieza Forest is well worth reading in itself. This article at Kuriositas also has gorgeous pictures of Bialowieza Forest as it is today. Link -via the Presurfer
(Image credit: Flickr user Frank.Vassen)